In 2026—200 years following the death of Carl Maria von Weber, a decisive figure in the development of German opera in the Romantic period—the American Symphony Orchestra takes on the composer’s seminal opera Der Freischütz (1821), performed with a twist: in place of the original opera, the ASO presents Hector Berlioz’s version of the work, arranged for the Paris Opera in 1841.

Sung in French with lyrics translated by Berlioz and Emilien Pacini, the opera’s original spoken dialogue is replaced, too, by orchestrated recitatives. Also included in this arrangement is Weber’s “Invitation to the Dance,” a work that Berlioz inserted into the opera as an obligatory ballet sequence for the Paris Opera production—and a work that would later take on a life of its own as a popular, standout concert piece.

Complex and richly orchestrated, and stylistically varied—the opera conveys a powerful, compelling exploration of the dichotomy of “good-versus-evil”—a trope found in literary and dramatic works throughout the ages, and one that still speaks today. Der Freischütz remains an endless source of fascination to the modern listener, much as it did to a young Frenchman by the name of Berlioz when he first heard it at the opera’s Parisian premiere at the Théâtre de l’Odéon in 1824.

Rachel Doehring Jackson appears as a member of the chorus.